Mary's walk for charity
Mary Carrington on walk No 6 to the bench in Broomfield Park that commemorates her late husband Richard. She says that sitting on the bench is like sitting on his lap.
Mary Carrington was born in 1928, met her future husband, Richard, at the age of nine and married him in 1949. They went on to have three children, eight grandchildren, ten great grandchildren and nearly seventy years of happy marriage.
Mary left school at fourteen, and, due to the war, not a qualification to her name. As their children grew up Mary took herself back to college, gaining ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels and eventually a degree in Education. She taught for the next fifteen years, taking early retirement at the age of 59.
Not one to sit around, and with a continuing desire to help others, Mary went in to local schools to help with reading, and volunteered to work for Childline, which she continued to do for the next fifteen years. Mary has always been very socially conscious and has supported many charities over the years.
When her husband died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2018 Mary was devastated. She had never lived alone and the idea was hard for her to deal with. Her large loving family rallied round. Her children and their partners purchased a bench in Broomfield Park, attached a plaque to commemorate Richard’s life, and soon Mary began to walk to the bench every day. She liked to rest on it for a few minutes and said it made her feel close to Richard.
About ten days ago Mary heard about a friend and colleague of her granddaughter, Laurey, whose baby had sadly passed away at five days of age. They were trying to raise money for the local hospital’s neonatal unit, and had started a campaign called ‘FiftyforFinnley’, whereby anybody could walk, swim, run or cycle 50km or miles to raise money for the cause. Mary, who has sponsored all the family in various campaigns over the years, immediately wanted to contribute and asked where she should send the money.
Somebody suggested, rather than sending money, Mary herself could be sponsored and raise an amount to contribute. In her usual determined fashion, Mary immediately set off for the bench, and has continued daily, with various members of the family recording her walks. Meanwhile, up in Blackpool, her daughter Jill, unable to visit due to lockdown, posted a picture of Mary on the Friends of Broomfield Park Facebook page, asking people to look out for her and to give her a wave if they spotted her. Some lovely comments - and donations - appeared under the post, which was then shared by the Community Cafe in the park. They offered Mary a free coffee when she next visited the bench. She went with her grandson and family and was treated like Royalty.
Mary visits the Palmers Greenery cafe
On Saturday Jill's nephew, his wife and their children accompanied Mary on her walk:
"We were slightly ahead of grandma (keeping up with W&D on their bikes) and arrived at the cafe before her. Then, as she was approaching, the man at the cafe got really excited and said, 'Hang on, I think that's the lady walking to the bench', and two others came out and 'Yes, that's her!'. They were all really lovely, the free coffee came out and the lady came over for a lovely chat!"
Mary has always given selflessly of her time, her friendship and financial help, and now she’s raising money for a great cause, and feeling that once again she has a purpose. She would love it if people came to say hi.
So far the money raised by friends and family - and strangers - who have heard about Mary’s walk has just topped £1200, which is a pretty good achievement for a 92 year old.